How are Luck's leadership skills? Every time i hear him talk i come away with the vibe he is a total dork. Obviously his play speaks for itself but still he seems so damn dorky to me.

his charisma does seem lacking in some ways but he talked his way out of one of those BS delay of game penalties where they forget to reset the 25 second clock earlier today and i've literally never seen that actually work before

Gabbert could get up there with them. The phantom pass rush issue bothers me a ton, but that's really the one thing holding him back aside from a couple receivers. But, no, I've never really had him anywhere close to Locker or Luck, but he is a very promising young QB with all the tools, so that's why he gets lumped in there.

Gabbert could get up there with them. The phantom pass rush issue bothers me a ton, but that's really the one thing holding him back aside from a couple receivers. But, no, I've never really had him anywhere close to Locker or Luck, but he is a very promising young QB with all the tools, so that's why he gets lumped in there.

Could you Imagine if the Jaguars Suck and get the 1ST Pick Next Year? Barkley,Luck,Locker. Pac-12 Rivalry.

With Polian being fired, my guess is that the Colts rebuild starting with Luck, cut Manning and his 38 million and use the money to sign 8 top FA's over the next 2 years to completely revamp the team.
Overnight, this team could be right back totally dominating the AFC South for the next decade.
IMO, Manning is totally untradable due to his contract and any team willing to take the risk on him, will simply wait till the Colts cut him so they can sign him to a totally new contract in line with his age and health issues.

With Polian being fired, my guess is that the Colts rebuild starting with Luck, cut Manning and his 38 million and use the money to sign 8 top FA's over the next 2 years to completely revamp the team.
Overnight, this team could be right back totally dominating the AFC South for the next decade.
IMO, Manning is totally untradable due to his contract and any team willing to take the risk on him, will simply wait till the Colts cut him so they can sign him to a totally new contract in line with his age and health issues.

Yeah thats what I was thinking too. The Colts will have TONS of cap space if they cut Peyton and dont pay his huge bonus, plus Im sure they will restructure Freeney and Clark's deals so we're looking at over 40 mil possibly in cap room. They could sign some serious players this offseason and next to revamp this team around Luck.

Peyton wants to retire a Colt.
Polian was fired because Jim Irsay was still invested in the totality of Peyton's career, however IMO Polian was not.

I think Polian got into Irsay's ear one too many times about dealing Peyton and Irsay had enough.

Why do you think Jim Caldwell hasn't been fired??
Because Peyton still wants him to be his HC.

I think it's shaping up that the Colts are going to trade the top pick for treasure chest of picks.

Beware when your best player is friends with the owner, because said player ONLY leaves a franchise on his own terms, not the other way around.

That still totally depends on Peyton's health. And I still think Caldwell gets canned since the new GM will want a new HC. I could see Peyton's health being only 60 or 70 percent good to go, in which case they would have to take Luck as insurance.

Peyton wants to retire a Colt.
Polian was fired because Jim Irsay was still invested in the totality of Peyton's career, however IMO Polian was not.

I think Polian got into Irsay's ear one too many times about dealing Peyton and Irsay had enough.

Why do you think Jim Caldwell hasn't been fired??
Because Peyton still wants him to be his HC.

I think it's shaping up that the Colts are going to trade the top pick for a treasure chest of picks.

Beware when your best player is friends with the owner, because said player ONLY leaves a franchise on his own terms, not the other way around.

This was my thinking with my brother the Colts fan. But tweaked.

I said Irsay doesn't have the guts or has a heart and won't cut Manning. But also not stupid and will draft Luck and deal with that problem in 2 years. Maybe some team gives up a huge gift bag of players and picks for the #1 pick.

The Colts really aren't this giant overhaul situation that some are making it out to be. And drafting Luck doesn't mean Peyton goes...and keeping Peyton doesn't mean they deal the #1 pick.

Draft Luck. He's an affordable backup, and not someone you pass on. Spend the rest of your efforts building quality depth behind older important players and fixing the defense.

I think they'll pretty much always run the offensive they've been running, especially with Peyton there to continue it and teach it to Luck. It's too big of an advantage in the warm weather and domes they spend most of their season in.

I think you make Jeff Fisher the #1 target. He's familiar with the division and can install an effective version of his defense quickly without screwing with the offensive side of the ball too much. Unless Garrett gets canned, Fisher's two prime destinations aren't going to be available.

This is a good draft class to find DTs that fit what Fisher likes to do, and the rest of the work is probably in the secondary.

If Manning is healthy enough to play QB in the NFL next season, why would anyone assume that Luck, as a back-up, with both of them on the roster in 2012, would take the starting job in 1-2 years? Manning has shown no signs of decline and mobility isn't a part of his game at all. IF he regains his arm strength (and if he doesn't - this is all moot, you take Luck, dump Manning and move on), why the hell wouldn't he keep playing at a high level for the next 4-5 years - or more (which I think we can all agree would be WAY too long for a player of Luck's caliber to sit and watch)?

Basically, to those who just say 'keep both' - you think Peyton Manning is only going to play 2 more years? Why? He's shown no signs of decline in terms of performance...

I guess the only thing I can think of is that you just keep Luck on the roster, and then when/if Peyton's injury pops up again, you make the switch. But if that doesn't happen, Luck's not going to happy if a healthy Manning plays well into his 40s (which I don't know why we aren't all assuming he will...)

because, like Favre in Green Bay, the Colts would acknowledge than Luck is the future and they won't want to wait anymore to put him in the lineup and will get rid of Peyton Manning who will be 38 or older by then. The window for the Manning era Colts success is closing with Wayne, Clarke, Freeney, Mathis, Addai, and Saturday all likely either being past their primes or out of contract years pretty soon. They'll have to rebuild the rest of the team and if you are gonna rebuild you might as well develop your young future star QB.

I don't see Manning playing too much longer, especially since he's had a few major surgeries lately. But it really doesn't matter how long Manning plays (and he actually had been showing signs of decline prior to getting hurt). You can't base your decision to or not to draft Luck on theoreticals concerning Manning's longevity.

Cam Newton got $22m/4y. That's a solid price for a backup QB. If Luck has a similar deal to Newton, his contract will be up the same time as Manning's and they probably will have decided what to do with them both by then. I don't see Luck's value declining in that time frame.

because, like Favre in Green Bay, the Colts would acknowledge than Luck is the future and they won't want to wait anymore to put him in the lineup and will get rid of Peyton Manning who will be 38 or older by then. The window for the Manning era Colts success is closing with Wayne, Clarke, Freeney, Mathis, Addai, and Saturday all likely either being past their primes or out of contract years pretty soon. They'll have to rebuild the rest of the team and if you are gonna rebuild you might as well develop your young future star QB.

That's the way I see it.
The Colts are drafting Luck, guaranteed. The Colts cut Manning (who secretly requests it as he knows the next few years in Indy are a waste of his time if he wants to win another SB) before the $28 million is due in March. Manning signs with SF (who instantly becomes a legitimate top 3 NFC team. Also cut and signed by SF is Wayne.

I'm not buying the Harbaugh, 'we are signing Smith for 2012'. Once they get beat by a powerhouse offense in the next couple of weeks, he will hold out on Smith and see if the above takes place.

It's Luck, no brainer. He is the best since sliced bread, and sliced bread is in the hall of fame. You mean to tell me that Luck won't be happy sitting behind possibly the best QB of this era for a year or so? He is already a can't miss, then add a year or so of knowledge from the best in the game at his position? This gives Manning a year or two to go out on his terms, as a Colt and transition Luck into the fold as they start rebuilding....

Keeping Peyton for 1-2 years isn't about him being "done" after those years IMO. It just allows Luck to learn, and allows the team to be a real threat.... if Peyton is still good in 2 years or so... even better, trade him for a gold mine, and build around your 23 year old elite QB who is now 100% ready to go.

tldr version: If you hang on to both, you might get the best of competing now and rebuilding.

It's funny everyone on Espn is saying to draft Luck and cut Manning. Now I understand why you would do it 50 Million to two QB's is way too much money. But my thinking if you cut Maniing you have to blow this whole team up. Get as many picks for the old Players you can, clean up your salary cap and draft young offensive players to help out Luck.

Keeping Peyton for 1-2 years isn't about him being "done" after those years IMO. It just allows Luck to learn, and allows the team to be a real threat.... if Peyton is still good in 2 years or so... even better, trade him for a gold mine, and build around your 23 year old elite QB who is now 100% ready to go.

tldr version: If you hang on to both, you might get the best of competing now and rebuilding.

I doubt teams will trade a gold mine for a 38-39 year Peyton. Maybe a late 1st but that is as high as it gets IMHO.